


The Christmas Play

by raeinspace



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Christmas, F/F, F/M, Family, Flirting, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:22:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29091966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raeinspace/pseuds/raeinspace
Summary: Goldie shows up at the mansion, injured, as the kids are putting on a play for the grown-ups at Christmas.
Relationships: Lena (Disney: DuckTales) & Webby Vanderquack, Scrooge McDuck & "Glittering" Goldie O'Gilt
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

The mansion looked dark from the outside. Goldie snuck up to the windows but all of the curtains had been drawn and she couldn't see in. For a moment she wondered whether Scrooge had actually abandoned his home on Christmas Eve to go gold hunting, but she knew him too well. This was the one night he was guaranteed to be home - he always returned to protect it from his greatest enemy before Christmas.  
She refused to use the front door. That would suggest a different kind of relationship with the old skin-flint than she would allow. Looking up at the first floor windows, she tried to remember which one she'd used before.  
Checking her shirt to make sure the minor wound wasn't bleeding through her makeshift bandage, she grabbed a grappling hook out of her bag and aimed for the first floor window ledge. Once she'd tested that it was secure, she climbed up the side of the building. Although it took her a little longer than usual, due to the pain from her injury, she made it. Luckily it was the right window and she was able to get it open without any trouble.  
Goldie slipped inside, listening for any sounds of the manors residents. All was silent. After retrieving her grappling hook she moved across the room and out into the hallway using a small flashlight to check for trip hazards. From there she had to get upstairs, to the room she always used when in Duckburg. It was in a part of the mansion which Scrooge never used, but a little bit of dust was nothing to compared to some of the places she'd stayed before. Plus it was free, always a bonus. She'd stay for a day or two, just until her wound healed, then head back out. Goldie smiled to herself. Perhaps she'd drop in on Scrooge before she left, see if he still had that ridiculously over-large chair in his office.  
She was just heading up the staircase when she heard the sound of laughter. Intrigued, though she knew it was dangerous to hang around when there were so many people living in the house now, she moved closer to the noise.  
There were lights on downstairs so some of the family were home. Goldie moved closer. 

Now that they didn't have to stay up all night to try and trap Santa, the Duck family planned a small get-together with their closest friends for Christmas Eve - knowing they would want to spend most of Christmas Day with their own families. It wouldn't be the exciting, weapons-crazed night of previous years but they were sure they could have almost as much fun.  
Webby had invited Lena and Violet over, Launchpad invited Drake and Gosalyn, Donald had invited Daisy, and Della had invited Penumbra and Selene. The children had wanted to do something special for Scrooge this year, give him a present that was also an excuse for them to all spend time together - Dewey had accidentally spilled the secret about Scrooge's usual Christmas disappearing act, so the Ghosts were also invited.  
Luckily the idea came two months before Christmas, giving them plenty of time to prepare. The plan, surprisingly, was Dewey's. 

Two months ago...

"We should put on a play, or a talent show! I could do segments from Dewey Dew-night!" Dewey suggested as they sat around during one of Webby's sleepovers.  
He expected the usual laughter from the others, but they were actually considering it.  
"Not Dewey Dew-night," Huey eventually spoke, "I don't think Uncle Scrooge would appreciate you bringing Glomgold into the mansion on Christmas Eve."  
"Unless we set up some of the un-used Santa traps first," Louie suggested with an evil glint in his eyes.  
"A play is a GREAT idea!" Webby agreed, "but if it's going to be a present for Scrooge, what would be better than a play about his life! It would make him feel so important."  
"A play would last a couple of hours right? So we wouldn't have to play Scrooge-opoly," Louie pointed out.  
The triplets and Webby looked over at their guests for their opinions.  
Lena shrugged "it's your party, if you want to do something like that as a present for Scrooge I guess it could be kinda cool."  
"And I'm sure there are Junior Woodchuck badges we could earn by helping out," Violet looked over at Huey.  
Louie smiled to himself, putting on a play would be far less damaging to his savings than buying presents.  
"We could turn it into a musical!" Dewey tried to get his own ideas back in the conversation, "then I could record it for my show."  
There was a resounding 'no' from everyone. Seeing how hurt he looked, Webby quickly suggested that there might be room for one dance solo.  
"Who's going to write it?" Louie asked.  
"Uh, duh, I think Webby's the obvious choice," Lena nudged him.  
"Me?" Webby's eyes went wide with all the possibilities, "I mean, I do have extensive research on his life but to put together a whole play?"  
"I will help you edit it down," Violet volunteered. "I enjoy cutting out unnecessary words in my school essays to fit the required word counts."  
"So Webby writes it, Violet edits, Dewey gets to dance. What about the rest of us?" Huey asked.  
"Well we'll all have parts in the play," Webby insisted, "just us kids. The adults can be the audience."  
"Huey should be in charge of costumes," Louie began analysing what they'd require and their most effective roles, "he's got that whole sewing badge thing. I'll take care of the budget, we'll need a stage and props. We can get Uncle Donald build the stage, mom can check it's structurally sound and help set up any special effects. We might need Mrs Beakley as a stage manager to make sure everything is ready by Christmas Eve, and she can handle any lights or sound effects..."  
"But I'm great with sound effects," Dewey pouted.  
Louie shrugged, "I figured you'd want to be on stage."  
"Oh, yeah," Dewey settled back down.  
"Dewey's the choreographer," Webby reminded him, even though it was just one dance, but it cheered the blue-shirted duck up. 

Sitting in their shared bedroom, Lena and Violet were nearly finished working through Webby's script - Lena sitting on the bed and Violet at the desk. As soon as Lena added or removed bits of dialogue, she'd add it to a pile of papers on her right and eventually Violet would come over to collect a few and check through them. Then Violet would type up the new script, saving the document to print later.  
Once she'd reached the final scene, Lena massaged her writing hand and stretched out her fingers in relief.  
"Done!" she loudly proclaimed and lay back on the bed, closing her eyes.  
She heard Violet come over for the final pages. For a while there was the steady sound of fingers flying over keys, then a pause.  
"Are you sure that you don't want to add more romance to this part?" Violet asked as she reached the final scene.  
"Ugh, no! It's bad enough watching Scrooge when Goldie's around, plus it'd be weird seeing Dewey and Webby having to kiss or something."  
"Why are you assuming that they will be given the lead roles?"  
"Because... it's Webby's play and she'd be awesome in it, plus that other kid loves being the centre of attention. Webby's asked Della to cast the parts and she won't say no to her own son when he begs for the role."  
"I actually think Webby would be good in the role of Scrooge McDuck. She and Huey have experience of acting, they were in that Harpie commercial of Louie’s a while back and Webby did very well. If Della is as impartial as she promised to be then Webby will be able to audition for the role and get it."  
"Dewey will go nuts."  
"He doesn't appear to be the most stable of the triplets already."  
Lena grinned, "he's just too busy trying to grow up without learning what's involved to succeed."  
"I think you should audition for the role of Goldie."  
Lena opened her eyes and sat up, "what?"  
"Louie will undoubtedly try to back out of a main role, Huey won't want to be a villain, I could learn the lines but have no interest in learning to act. That leaves you."  
"And Webby."  
"I told you..."  
"But if Webby gets to be Scrooge and I'm Goldie, won't that be... awkward?"  
After Violet found her diary and read it, claiming the action was expected between siblings, Lena had been angry. Violet had sworn never to reveal the contents, reminding Lena that she sometimes struggled to understand other people and the diary actually helped her to get to know her better. In some ways Lena was relieved that Violet had read the diary, it meant she could talk to her new sister about things she had kept secret, and so far Violet hadn't betrayed that trust. One of the biggest secrets from the diary was Lena's attempts to understand her growing feelings for Webby.  
Violet's first attempts to discuss them had been a disaster, she'd borrowed a book from the library and tried to get Lena to analyse exactly how she was feeling to scientifically determine whether it was just a crush, an infatuation, a strong feeling of friendship, a mental disorder (some of Lena's entries had been ramblings which confused her) or love. Lena had taken one look at the book, called Violet a nerd and refused to talk to her about it until the book had been returned.  
The next day Violet came home with a pre-teen magazine which contained a quiz supposed to determine whether the person the reader had a crush on returned their feelings. Lena had laughed, thanked Violet for trying to help, told her to leave it alone, then thrown the magazine in the trash. Her bravado would have fooled Violet if the younger girl hadn't caught her looking at the magazine later that same day, so to compromise Lena had promised to talk to Violet about her feelings if her sister didn't try to interfere.  
"You don't believe you will be able to act in love with Webby if she plays the role of Scrooge?"  
"Don't be an idiot, my feelings are what would make it weird. I can't pretend to be pretending to be in love with her, especially if she doesn't feel the same way. What if she found out afterwards and I thought I was taking advantage of the situation?"  
Violet was amused by how often Lena switched between calling her a nerd and an idiot, she knew her new sister loved her and the teasing insults no longer bothered her, "perhaps this is your opportunity to find out how Webby feels. From what I have heard, Goldie is always trying to seduce Scrooge either to get his treasure or because she's attracted to him. If you play the role of Goldie you can openly flirt with Webby and see if she responds."  
"What if she responds because she's acting?"  
"I will study her reactions to you during and after rehearsals. If I notice any changes I will inform you."  
Violet already had an inkling of Webby's feelings towards Lena. Webby tried to treat her two friends the same, but despite how much she had in common with Violet she always seemed to gravitate that little bit closer to Lena. Unfortunately Lena didn't believe Violet whenever she tried to reassure her about Webby's affection for her.  
Lena ran a hand through the feathers on her head, "so how much more romantic do you think the play should be?"  
Violet smiled, pulling out a couple of books from her bag, "I may have slipped into the adult romance section at the library and selected a few books, purely for research purposes."  
"And you're allowed to borrow those types of books at your age?"  
"The librarians let me process my own books, because they say I take up too much of their time with questions and borrowing the maximum allowed they lose several minutes which could be better spent doing other things."  
"Does this class as rule-breaking? If so, I'm impressed sis. Just how 'adult' are these books?"  
Violet blushed, "it's to help with the play. I avoided the ones with half-naked males on the cover and stuck to the simple love story ones. We should be okay to read them."  
Lena held out her hand and Violet tossed one over. She rolled her eyes as she read the back cover, it sounded like an overly-sappy story. Then again, maybe that's what their play needed. Without saying another word, she cracked open the book and began to read.


	2. Chapter 2

The play was written in two weeks, and Webby was so excited. Her grandmother had firmly suggested that an hour and a half was plenty of time for the play, they didn't want the audience to get bored if it went on too long and the actors didn't have long to learn all of their lines. As there were too many of Scrooge's adventures to fit in such a short timeframe, Webby had set the play during the Gold Rush, so that it included bits of adventure, treasure and Goldie O'Gilt - the three main features of Scrooge's early life - she was already planning a sequel for next year featuring a young Della and Donald which would be more of a comedy. After Violet helped her edit the script down to it's bare bones to fit the time limit and Lena re-wrote some of the dialogue (Scrooge and his Scottish curses were fine, Webby had clearly spent too much time around him, but the other characters were too unrealistic), they set about trying to decide who to cast in each role.   
To make it a little more impartial, Webby asked Della to help make the final decision. None of the adults (other than Mrs Beakley) were allowed to know the contents of the script, so Webby had just given her a basic list of character descriptions. Webby was cast as Scrooge, simply because she was able to mimic him so well. She auditioned with her own top hat and cane but told Della that she also had an identical outfit to the kind he wore as a miner - dungarees, brown boots and hat, grey scarf and a red shirt that matched the long-johns in the photos of him. Violet requested to be cast as minor background characters who didn't have speaking parts so that she could double as a script prompter on the night. Louie requested the same because he didn't want to learn any lines. Huey was excited to be cast as a Sheriff, and two other minor characters. When Della offered Dewey the role of the villain, he'd sulked. He'd assumed the role of Scrooge would go to him and that Webby would want to be Goldie or the other main character - the villain. Webby reminded him about the dance solo and how it was more likely for the villain to have one than Scrooge. Louie got to be his silent henchman, a role he was more than happy to play. The role of Goldie went to Lena. She hadn't wanted to audition, but Webby had known she would be perfect for the part and encouraged her to try. With all of the roles cast, all that was left to do was rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.   
The night before Christmas Eve, the Three Caballeros arrived, uninvited but welcome. As soon as they heard about the play they wanted a chance to perform so Mrs Beakley told them they could provide some background music for the play and then perform one song at the end. Dewey decided his dance solo would be more effective with live music than a recording and began working with them on the song he wanted. 

Now it was Christmas Eve, there was no more time for rehearsals. The play began.   
Webby stepped onto the stage, trying to hide a smile as the audience clapped at her appearance. She was Scrooge McDuck, adventurer, returning to Gumption in search of a stolen treasure - all of which she explained as she moved across the stage. Huey appeared next, as the Sheriff, and welcomed Scrooge back to town. After a few questions Scrooge discovered that Goldie now owned a saloon in the town and that her singing had made the place famous. He thanked the Sheriff and headed off-stage. The curtains fell, and when they rose again the audience could tell they were now seeing the inside of the saloon. Lena stood near a piano, feeling nervous with a heavy golden wig on her head. Violet and Louie were customers, and after quickly changing his costume Huey appeared as a regular townsperson. Dewey was behind the prop bar, mixing up imaginary drinks and tossing plastic (Mrs Beakley wouldn't let him use real glass ones) beakers into the air.   
Instead of having to sing, Lena had persuaded Webby to let her use a recorded song which she lip-synced to. Webby-as-Scrooge arrived towards the end of the song, clapping loudly when it ended. The scene continued with Goldie and Scrooge meeting again and moving to a private room to talk, allowing the other actors to leave the stage and prepare for later scenes.   
They joked over old times, there were a few cringe-worthy attempts at flirting which Lena couldn't persuade Webby to remove from the script - the triplets had backed Webby up over Scrooge's poor romance skills. It turned out that Goldie had stolen a precious, golden cup which increased the popularity of her singing and encouraged people to keep coming back night after night to hear her, making her saloon the most successful in the whole state. She assumed Scrooge returned because he heard of her success but he tells her that he had come to return the cup to its rightful home. Special effects, courtesy of Lena’s magic, showed the village she had stolen the cup from was being plagued by a terrible monster. The cup had been used to keep it asleep but now it was awake again. Scrooge implored her to return the cup, only it could enhance the locals meagre musical talents enough to make the monster sleep. Goldie refused, she was finally becoming rich!   
Dewey had re-appeared on stage as the villain with a curly moustache in time to overhear Goldie and Scrooge arguing. He was Goldie's enemy, another saloon owner whose establishment used to be the more popular before she stole the golden cup. Once he learns about the cup he plans to steal it, and reveals his plans to his henchman Louie through a dance solo.   
After the villain burns the saloon to force everyone out (more of Lena’s magic provided safe, fake flames) so he can sneak in and grab the cup, Goldie and Scrooge have a little adventure trying to retrieve it, then Scrooge has to battle the villain and his sidekick while Goldie steals it back. Dewey's defeat was melodramatic, he was determined that his last minutes on stage would be remembered. Scrooge asked Goldie to leave with him and go on adventures, but she declines. He asks if she's going back to Gumption but she says that's over, the fire was a sign to move on. There had been so many fires in the town and it was too expensive to rebuild. She was heading north, there were rumours of more gold that had ever been seen in Gumption and she was going to find it. She asks if Scrooge wants to come with her, but he says he has to return the cup and reaches into her bag where she had hidden it. Scrooge told her that she didn't need the cup, that she had a real gift for singing, her voice was special and beautiful just like her...   
Just as he was leaning in towards her for a kiss....  
"Is that what you've been telling everyone?" Goldie's voice floated down to them. "Portraying me like some kind of simpering, weak fool. I didn't just steal back the cup I fought for it too."  
The actors on stage froze, the audience turned in their chairs to look behind them as Goldie came down the stairs and into the room.   
"Goldie, what are ye doing here lass?" Scrooge was the first to his feet.   
Goldie stopped in the doorway, "witnessing I-don't-know-what. Have you really been telling your family that it happened that way? And what was with the line about my singing, you were never that smooth."  
In her anger she'd forgotten her injury and now she had to lean against the door frame, trying to make it look casual, as she fought the pain.   
"Did you come to steal our Christmas presents?" Dewey asked, "and what did you think of my dance solo?"  
"We did take some artistic licence with the story," Webby admitted sheepishly.   
"I fact-checked the details of the clothing style worn during that era," Huey piped up.   
Lena was removing her wig, "it was just a bit of fun. There's no need to be so mean about it. Webby worked really hard on the script."  
"Hey Goldie," Louie waved, not seeing any reason to take sides in the argument.   
Goldie's eyes had moved around the room as they all spoke in turn, then finally came to rest on Scrooge. He'd moved closer to her while she was distracted with all their chatter, so she continued to frown at him.   
Scrooge held out his hands, palms up in a show of peace, "I didnae expect to see you so soon. You're welcome to stay for Christmas if you'd like."  
"You aren't going to try and defend that... play?"  
"Oh come now, we're both too old to care how history portrays us. It's not like it's being recorded as fact, like the lass said it's meant to entertain. I thought they all did a wonderful job."  
Goldie huffed.   
"Perhaps you could stay and tell us what really happened," Webby suggested. "I've got so many questions about Scrooge's Klondike years."  
"Sorry, can't stay," Goldie was desperately trying to think of a way to leave without them noticing so she could sneak back upstairs. "I'm on my way to Cape Suzette to retrieve something important from an evil business tycoon. I only stopped by to grab a snack, I didn't think you'd mind."  
"You came here for food?" Lena doubted that was the truth, there were so many easier places to steal food as she knew from experience.  
"I knew it!" Dewey proclaimed, trying to get everyone's attention focused back on himself, "she was planning to steal from us!"  
Goldie wondered whether they'd let her go to the kitchen alone. If she could get into the kitchen there was a secret door, then she could sneak through to the disused servants hallways back to her room. Goldie wondered whether they'd let her go to the kitchen alone. Perhaps she could use the blue kid to distract the adults.   
"Say kid, you were probably smart to stick to that simple dance routine..."  
"Simple? That was music-video worthy!"   
While she baited him, Goldie didn't notice the Ghost of Christmas Present come up to Scrooge and whisper something in his ear. Whatever he said caused Scrooge to lean on his cane for support in shock and look more carefully at Goldie who was still arguing with Dewey.   
"Goldie leave the boy alone," he finally snapped at her when he saw Dewey planning on performing a probably dangerously over-complicated dance. "You can stay here tonight, tomorrow's Christmas so you won't be going anywhere until the day after anyway. Mrs Beakley will find you a spare room."  
Mrs Beakley just glared at him from the stage, having avoided verbally confronting Goldie. She didn't know what Scrooge saw in the dangerous woman. As soon as Scrooge turned back to his family, intending to congratulate the children on their play, Goldie slipped away.   
She made it to the kitchen, but Mrs Beakley followed her just as stealthily. She'd taken down the old woman once before, but this time she was at a disadvantage.  
"Are you even going to bother staying the night?" Mrs Beakley asked as she watched Goldie stuff some fruit into her bag.   
"Sure, why don't you run along and find me a nice room to stay in. Preferably one away from the noisy kids."  
"Mr McDuck's rooms are on the other side of the house from the children's," she retorted, pleased when Goldie blushed at the insinuation.  
"Whatever you think is best," Goldie grit her teeth, trying to remember that she wouldn't be using that room anyway.  
"If you're here for anything other than food and shelter..."  
"What, you'll try and stop me like last time?" Goldie turned away as she laughed, wincing in pain as she hid her face.   
Mrs Beakley cracked her knuckles as she studied the other woman, "I never make the same mistake twice."  
"I do believe dear old Scroogie asked you to prepare a room for me, is threatening his guests part of your job description?"  
"Fine. This is your only warning. You will leave in the morning with only the items your brought into this home and some food. If anything else is missing I will hunt you down and we will see who wins the next round."  
Goldie watched her leave the kitchen and leaned against the counter, taking deep breaths. It was getting harder to stay standing, she needed to rest. She counted to ten, to make sure the old bat wasn't coming back then headed over to the secret panel that led out of the kitchen.   
A few seconds later Louie entered the room, pretending he needed some pep after all that acting. He was surprised to find the kitchen empty and wondered where Goldie had gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Goldie had to move slowly through the secret hallway, making sure that she didn't make a sound in case someone on the other side of the wall heard her. Once she was on the right floor she returned to the main part of the house and headed towards her room. She was relieved to see the dust on the floor, that meant no-one had been inside recently and she locked the door behind her as an extra security measure. Heading over to the far wall she removed the small picture, opened the secret compartment and took out one of Scrooge's hidden treasures. She'd put a false back on the compartment years ago in case she ever wanted to hide something there. Goldie removed a small package from her bag and placed it in the secure location, returning the false panel and Scrooge's treasure before putting the picture back on the wall.   
She'd lied to Scrooge earlier. She wasn't on her way to Cape Suzette, in fact she'd just returned from there. A local pilot called in a favour. He’d flown her out of a dangerous situation a few year back, probably saving her life, and knowing her skill-set had asked for some help. Baloo needed her to steal something from Khan Industries, because it would have helped put his friends out of business. Instead of giving him the item afterwards, which he expected, she decided just getting it away from Khan made them even – so she kept it. It was probably something that Scrooge would be annoyed to know she had, which was why hiding it in his own home felt so satisfying. Plus she didn’t like Shere Khan, his mining division had once tried to take some land she legally owned. Just because it had been in her name for two hundred years didn't mean she would let anyone else take it from her. So she had her revenge and a treasure, plus she’d paid off an old debt, but even though she'd managed to successfully steal from Shere Khan and get away, she'd been too slow to emerge unscathed.  
She checked her bandage again, to make sure the wound wasn't bleeding through, then removed the plastic cover protecting the mattress, put her own sleeping bag on the bed and slipped inside. Her injury meant she had to lie on her back, even though she preferred sleeping on her side but exhaustion meant she fell asleep quickly. 

When Mrs Beakley returned to the kitchen she wasn't surprised to find Goldie had vanished. She assumed the (literal) gold-digger was back with Scrooge and his family, but when she realised that wasn't the case she became annoyed. That woman had let her go and prepare a room for her to stay in then had the audacity to leave.   
She’d probably hoped to hitch a ride when the real guests departed. Bentina had seen Selene and Penny heading out when she got back downstairs, they did have the longest journey home of the guests, and she half-hoped Goldie would try and sneak onto one of the moonlanders space ships and head into space. Or perhaps the Ghosts would take in interest in her, and try to persuade her to live on the right side of the law for once.   
Scrooge suggested that the children rest after putting on the play, then took the remaining adults aside. Donald and Daisy had disappeared, he assumed to Donald’s houseboat unless his nephew was being a gentleman and escorting his girlfriend home already. He asked Launchpad to watch the children while the rest of them searched the house for Goldie.  
"Good riddance," Mrs Beakley said after they'd finished looking for her without success. "I couldn't see anything missing, which is a first for one of her visits, but it looks like she's gone."  
"Was that charming young lady a criminal?" Drake asked in a whisper.   
"She’s a con artist, a thief, a…."  
"Well rest assured, if she ever ends up in St Canard trying to make trouble, Darkwing Duck will handle her… that is, I’m sure he will, whoever he is."  
The adults rolled their eyes.   
"I’m sure you’ll see her again soon Uncle Scrooge," Della tried to cheer him up. "You know how much she enjoys surprising you."  
"Oh dear," Scrooge looked worried.   
"What’s wrong?" Della asked, remembering her previous encounters with Goldie and knowing that however much he denied it he'd clearly been in love with the woman at one time or another.  
"When the Ghost of Christmas Future looked at Goldie he couldn't see her anywhere next year."  
"What?" Della grabbed his arm, "are you sure he didn't just mean in the mansion?"  
"His powers extend to this whole planet, and I know Goldie's had her own adventures in other dimensions but I don't like the sound of it," Scrooge explained.  
Mrs Beakley shook her head, "it's Christmas Eve. You shouldn't go chasing after someone who's only going to keep running from you, not when you've got a family here who want you."  
"She might in danger."  
"Even she'll have trouble getting into mischief on Christmas Day so there's no use worrying about it until after the holiday."  
Scrooge looked to Della for reassurance.  
"I'm sorry, I can't miss another Christmas with the boys," she apologised, "but the day after Christmas we'll all come with you to look for her if that's what you want. I understand if you want to go now, though."  
Scrooge considered the options, then shook his head sadly, "you're right. I'm sure it can wait."  
Satisfied that he'd made the sensible choice, Mrs Beakley headed back to the children to remind them it was nearly time for bed. Drake went to find Launchpad and Gos, the pilot-and-chauffeur was taking them home.  
"Just straight home, with no other plans whatsoever," Launchpad said loudly, winking at Dewey.  
For the rest of the evening Scrooge was quiet. He tried to smile at their jokes, but as soon as his friends the three Ghosts left – they had work to do - he departed for his own room. 

Although Lena and Violet had gone home with their dads, the triplets and Webby were having their own 'mansion sleepover'. The lights had been switched off and Mrs Beakley had told them to go to sleep, but they weren't tired.   
"I can't believe you almost kissed Lena! You were so close," Dewey complained. "All that work was wasted thanks to Goldie."  
"It's totally fine," Webby tried to calm him. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be."  
"But you like her, like her, right?" Huey asked, "and you still need a way to tell her?"  
"Yeah, maybe next years play can be more of a romance," Webby suggested, "I guess writing about real people was a bad idea."  
"No, it was a great play! Lena looked like she wanted you to kiss her."  
Louie rolled over in his sleeping bag to face them, "how about you just tell her how you feel instead of making us go through another year of you trying to keep it a secret? I'm pretty sure she feels the same but she doesn't want to lose you as a friend by making the first move in case it's a mistake."  
"Are you sure?"  
"At least 87%."  
"What kind of certainty is that?" Dewey asked. "You should be in 100% or not at all."  
"I took off a couple of points because we still don't know Lena that well and girls are more of a puzzle than most of our adventures so yeah, 87% - give or take a few points. She needs you to be brave and tell her first."   
Webby turned her face towards her pillow and groaned into it.  
"I'm not sure I'd take advice about girls from someone who trusts Goldie," Dewey warned her. "Did you see how hurt Uncle Scrooge was after she left?"   
"Goldie is a good person, she's just used to being on her own," Louie stuck up for her. "It's not like they're really dating, you know. She has things to do and she can't just drop them because Uncle Scrooge asks her."  
"I did hear the grown-ups mention that she hadn't taken anything this time," Huey piped up.  
"When did they say that?"  
"After they searched the house for her. You were all busy looking at the presents under the Christmas tree, asking Lena to use her magic to tell you what was in them all."  
"Should Junior Woodchucks eavesdrop? Isn't there some kind of rule against that?" Dewey asked.  
"I wasn't eavesdropping, I wanted to ask mom a question but they all looked so serious that I didn't stick around and they were still talking when I left."  
They were all silent for a moment, wondering what secrets the adults were keeping from them. Then Webby spoke up.  
"I wonder if they really did check all the rooms."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, there are a couple that are locked and I don't think anyone bothers to go in them either because they don't have the keys or they're just storage rooms. I've climbed in through the vents before and they're really dusty so Granny and Duckworth haven't cleaned them. Goldie might be hiding out in one of them, after all it's Christmas Eve so there can't be many places for her to stay in town."  
"You think she's still here?" Louie sat up and switched on his torch shining it towards Webby.  
"Maybe she's waiting to steal our Christmas presents from Santa," Dewey suggested. "Or maybe she's going to steal stuff directly from Santa! What if she steals his sack of toys, or the sleigh? We have to save Christmas!"  
"Dewey, calm down. Webby why didn't you mention those rooms before?"  
Webby blushed, "I like having secret rooms to practice hiding things in."  
"Ooh, secret treasures?" Dewey asked, "dangerous artefacts that could destroy the world as we know it?"  
"Oh no, nothing fun like that. Just my journal and some old toys. Like I said, it's just to practice for when I have real treasures like your uncle."  
"So should we go look for her?" Louie tried to sound casual, but the light from his torch wasn't steady.  
"It's Christmas Eve, if we don't go to sleep Santa won't leave us any presents," Huey reminded them.   
"But Uncle Scrooge seemed worried about her. All we have to do is see if she's still here and make sure she's okay."   
"Let's vote on it," Webby suggested, not wanting the boys to fight on such an important night. "Who wants to search for Goldie?"  
"I say we look for her, for Uncle Scrooge," Louie raised his hand.  
"What if she doesn't want to be found and ties us up so that we miss Christmas!" Huey objected, trying to sway Dewey to his side and keeping his hands down.  
"Both good points," Dewey was pleased to see that his vote was the important tie-break one.   
"Who knows what dangers lie in the locked rooms," Louie hinted.   
"Old dusty furniture, most likely," Huey countered.  
"Well maybe Webby and I should go on our own, you two can stay here," Louie offered.   
"No, I wanna come too," Dewey instantly raised his hand.  
Huey shook his head as Louie grinned at his victory.   
"So it's settled," Webby slid out of her sleeping bag. "Huey, do you want to stay here? You could make sure no-one realises we're gone?"  
"No, I'll come."  
The triplets followed Webby to the nearest vent and one by one climbed inside.


	4. Chapter 4

Goldie had been dreaming that she was back on the outskirts of Gumption, travelling along empty roads on her way to find gold. No matter how far she walked, the town was always behind her when she looked back. In the distance she could hear the sound of a train, but there were no railway tracks nearby. All of a sudden, she felt a sharp pain as something crashed against her chest and she woke up with a yell.  
As soon as she switched on her torch, a small body rolled off of her. Goldie stared at the blue-clad triplet as her mind tried to process where she was and what was happening.  
"Sorry about that," Dewey apologised.   
"Where did you come from?"  
He pointed up at the grate, and when Goldie turned to look she spotted another face staring back at her.   
"Come out of there, this instant," she demanded, unzipping her sleeping bag so that she could move out of their way.   
Her stomach felt like someone was holding a fiery branch to it, but Goldie refused to show any sign of weakness. She managed to sit up and move along the bed to give the other children some room, leaning against the wall for support. The first one out, Webby, shot out of the vent like an acrobat, somersaulting before she reached the ground. She was followed by Huey and then Louie, who both climbed down slowly.   
"I told you to be careful," Huey whispered to Dewey.   
"I couldn't help it, I thought there'd be screws holding it shut and I just fell."  
"Onto me," Goldie reminded him. "What were you doing in there? Shouldn't you be asleep, waiting for Santa to bring you presents? Or have you caused so much mischief this year, having assaulted other innocent sleepers, that you're not expecting his visit?"  
Goldie understood Scrooge’s dislike of the old bear – it wasn’t fair that only children got presents from him, adults needed things too. Though she’d prefer a few diamonds to a doll or new bike.  
"It was an accident," Webby insisted, "and we were looking for you."  
"Really?" Goldie folded her arms, "and why is that?"  
"We wanted to make sure you were okay."  
"And you thought you'd do that by attacking me while I slept?"  
"I didn't do it on purpose. You're not supposed to be in this room anyway, Mrs Beakley prepared you a different room."  
"Hmm, and I'm sure she chose a room where she could keep an eye on me too but I like my freedom and being able to leave when I want."  
Louie had been watching Goldie carefully, even though their torches didn't provide as much visibility as switching on the lights would have done. She didn't look well. Of course, having Dewey land on her at her age probably wasn't great but there was something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.   
"What's wrong?" he asked, not expecting an honest answer but hoping for some small clue.  
"Nothing, now all of you can just leave the way you came and if you tell anyone where I am I will make sure to remove your most treasured possessions the next time I visit."  
Huey grabbed at his nightcap, which hid his Junior Woodchuck Guide "you wouldn't dare. Uncle Scrooge would stop you."  
"Oh please, name one time he stopped me from doing anything I wanted to."  
"The golden cup..." Webby replied, thinking of their play. "He got it back from you."  
"I told you, that story was wrong. Scrooge didn't trick me into giving the cup back."  
Louie had quietly been moving closer to Goldie while the others distracted her. No-one seemed to notice him, and soon he was standing next to Goldie, startling her when she finally saw him. He looked her over, frowning when he spotted a dark stain on the bedding and switching his torch back on to investigate.   
"Hey kid, what are you doing?" Goldie asked, finally noticing him.  
"Is that BLOOD?" he raised his voice on the last word, pointing at the stain.  
Goldie glanced down, "aw, nuts."  
She glared at the children, then gently lifted her shirt up a few inches. The boys politely looked away, while Webby leaned in for a closer look at the injury. All she could see was the bandage, but it was saturated with blood and she wondered how deep the wound was.   
"Wow, how'd you do that? Do you need more bandages? Granny taught me how to sew up wounds, though I haven't been able to practice on a real person yet, but I'm sure I could help you, " Webby offered.  
"I've had first aid training with the Woodchucks," Huey informed her, his eyes still averted.   
Goldie reached for her bag, pulling out a rolled up bandage and large cotton pad, "it's fine. Just a minor scratch, I've had worse. If the clumsy one hadn't rammed his head into it I would have woken up tomorrow without any trouble from it."  
"I'm not clumsy," Dewey told her.   
Goldie looked at Webby, and realising the young girl wasn't squeamish decided to trust her, "you can hold my shirt up while I re-wrap the bandage."  
Webby gently took hold of the cloth and watched Goldie remove the old bandage. She peeked at the wound while there was nothing covering it, curious about what had happened, but she didn't get to look at if for too long because Goldie unravelled the new bandage, slapped the square of cotton against the wound and wrapped the bandage around her waist. Webby released the shirt and stepped back.   
"You should probably get a doctor to look at that, in case it gets infected," she pointed out.  
"I've had more wounds that you've had haircuts," Goldie told her, "I know what to do by now."  
"It looks really deep, Granny says..."  
"Is your Granny a doctor?"  
"No, but..."  
"Then I'll stick to doing things my way."  
"You're not a doctor either," Webby reminded her.   
"Is there any reason you kids haven't left by now?" Goldie sighed.   
"Are you going to tell us what happened?" Louie asked.   
"No."  
"We could go get Uncle Scrooge. It would only take one of us to leave, the other three could keep you here."  
"You won't do that," Goldie assured him. "You'd get in too much trouble for sneaking around, at night, and I'd have to tell him how you attacked me while I was sleeping. He did say I was welcome to stay, so technically I'm a guest, here with his permission."  
Dewey looked to Huey for confirmation, but the eldest triplet looked unsure.   
"I think Uncle Scrooge would want to know you're here and that you're hurt," Louie challenged her.   
"Just let him enjoy a quiet Christmas with all of you and I'll be gone before you open your first present."  
"Why are you being so stubborn about this? Why can't you accept help for once?"  
"I don't need anyone's help. I'm doing fine on my own, the way I always have."  
"Well maybe just this once you should let us help."  
"It is Christmas," Dewey piped up.   
Goldie glared at him, "since when did Scrooge start allowing the festive spirit around here? Shouldn't you be setting up traps for that gift-giving do-gooder?"  
"Oh no, they're friends again now. We even helped deliver presents last year," Huey enlightened her proudly.  
Goldie looked towards Louie, "all of you? Well I hope you took advantage of the situation, any unwanted presents that you found could be sold for a profit."  
"I knew she was after the Christmas presents," Dewey ran to the door, "I'm gonna get Uncle Scrooge!"  
When he discovered that the door was locked, he looked around for a key but couldn't see one. His head turned to look up at the vent and he jumped up onto the bed. Goldie, realising his intention, lunged towards him, intent on stopping him.  
They collided in the middle of the bed where Dewey's head pushed against Goldie's injured stomach. She fell back on the bed, while he remained standing.   
"Dewey!" Louie scolded his brother, and went to check on Goldie.  
"It wasn't my fault!" Dewey insisted.   
Goldie's eyes were screwed up tight from the agony of her stomach. Louie turned back to Huey for advice, his older brother always knew what to do. Dewey was standing by Webby, who was quietly reassuring him that they knew it was an accident.   
"We should get help," Huey told him.  
"What does your book say?"  
Huey sighed and flipped through the pages until he reached the first aid section, "assess the situation."  
"We know the situation, she's injured and Dewey keeps making it worse."  
"Louie!" Webby looked as though she'd hit him if he was in range, "just check the bandages. See if there's heavy bleeding. It should really be stitched up, but I'd need the first aid kit in my room."   
Huey turned the book around so Louie could see the bold red lettering at the top of the page, "it also says to always seek professional medical advice."   
"If we do that then we have to tell them about Dewey," Louie threatened, pulling Goldie's sleeping bag over her to keep her warm.   
"What if she... dies," Huey whispered the last part, his gaze jumping to Dewey then back to Louie.  
"I... am.... here...." Goldie spoke slowly, her eyes still closed. "Aspirin... water.... peace. I'll.... be... fine."  
"Webby?" Louie looked to her for support.   
"I can get them. You guys wait here."  
"B... b... but..." Huey stuttered, wanting to tell them how crazy they were but Louie cut him off.  
"Go."  
Webby gently climbed up onto the bed, not daring to try any of her usual gymnastics in case she bounced the mattress too much. She was through the vent in a flash, and the boys stood around silently as they waited for her to return. 

Webby kept to the vents for the entire journey. It would have been easier to run down the hallways but she couldn't risk any of the adults seeing her. When she returned to the locked room she had her first aid kit, a large canteen filled with water from the bathroom and a bottle of aspirin she'd swiped from Scrooge's room - she knew what a heavy sleeper he was from past experience so it seemed the safest place to go.   
She poked her head through the vent before passing out the items one by one to Huey who stood on the bed. He helped her down last, and she looked over at Goldie.   
"Did anyone see you?" Huey asked her.  
"No, everyone's asleep. I've got fresh bandages but I think you should sew up the wound first."  
"Me? I thought you said you'd practiced for this."  
"I remembered that you've got that sewing badge."  
"For thread on fabric, not flesh! It's not the same thing."  
"How do you think doctors learn? Granny brought me this special first aid kit, it's got real medical stitches and everything."  
Goldie opened her eyes, "no stitches. I'm not ending up with a hideous wonky scar because a five-year-old was too nervous to use a needle."   
She tried to sit up, but just lifting her head hurt. Collapsing back against the mattress, knowing she was helpless and at the mercy of four small children, she wanted to scream.   
"Just leave the pills and go," she told them.   
"I'm not five," Huey corrected her, "and you really shouldn't be left alone in this state."  
She glared at the ceiling, "I'm an adult. I'll survive."  
The children began discussing the situation in whispers, and she ground her teeth in irritation. Why wouldn't they leave so she could get some sleep? Rest was all she really needed.   
"Look, why don't you go back to your rooms now, then the pink one can come back in the morning and check that I'm still alive."  
Perhaps she'd feel well enough to change rooms by then. If she slept under one of the beds, or inside a wardrobe in another locked room they wouldn't find her.  
There was a further whispered discussion.   
"Fine, we'll come back in the morning," Webby agreed, "but I'm checking your bandage to see if it's still bleeding."  
Goldie didn't bother to argue. She watched the girl help the triplets up into the vent and breathed a sigh of relief when they were all gone. Closing her eyes, she told herself that she'd wake early and get going before they could return.


	5. Chapter 5

"Rise and shine!"   
Della was surprised when none of the children were awake before her on Christmas morning, so she'd come along to their room to make sure they were okay. She found Webby asleep in the bottom of the triple bunk bed and saw Louie was sleeping at the tail end of Dewey's. The four children woke up groaning and rubbing their eyes. She wondered how late they'd stayed up the night before.   
"It's Christmas!" she tried again to get them excited, and it finally worked.  
Dewey was out of bed and down the ladder before the others had pushed back their covers, but it wasn't long before all of them were up.   
"Has Santa been?" Dewey asked.  
"I don't know, we'll have to go and look together. Hurry up and get dressed, I'll wait for you in the hallway."  
Webby lingered in the room for a moment, nodding to Huey after he mouthed the word 'Goldie' to her. She followed Della out, telling her to go down without her, she had something she needed to do.   
Webby got dressed quickly, then headed back to Goldie's room. The injured swindler appeared to be sleeping, so Webby used her spy training to sneak over to her and reached out to carefully check her bandage.  
Goldie's hand clamped around Webby's wrist as soon as she touched the fabric of her top. Webby was impressed.   
"Oh, it's only you," Goldie said releasing the young girl. "Shouldn't you be opening presents?"  
"After I check your bandage."  
"Go ahead then and make it quick. After you can pass me the water and two aspirin."  
The blood stain on Goldie's top didn't appear to be any bigger than the night before, but Webby knew the bandage should be changed to keep the wound from getting infected.   
"I'll come back after lunch and we'll change the bandage, I'll bring you more water and some food too," Webby promised.  
"I don't need anyone looking after me. I can manage on my own."  
"No you can't, and I don't understand why you'd want to. My life has been so much better since I met the boys and my new friends."  
"From what I saw on the news Scrooge has just been leading you all into danger."  
"We're having fun and I bet you'd follow him into danger if it meant getting some treasure."  
"Is that why you're doing it then?"  
"No."  
"Is it to spend more time with that girl who was trying to pretend to be me?"  
"Lena was doing a wonderful job!"  
"You really like her, eh?"  
Webby blushed, "she's my best friend. Violet and the boys are too."  
"You can't con a con artist. I saw the way you were looking at her."  
"I don't know what you mean."  
"Oh I think you do."  
"We're just friends," Webby insisted.  
"Who you were going to kiss."  
"It was all part of the play."  
"Oh, so she was going to push you?"  
"What?"  
"I didn't kiss Scrooge, I pushed him over and stole his horse. I figured if I was letting him keep the cup I should get some kind of payment for it. Luckily for me he'd left his saddlebags on the horse so I even had some supplies."  
"You stole his horse?"  
"He wasn't exactly in the middle of the desert, it was only a mile or two from the town and he was well enough to walk back. There was probably some reward for returning the cup so he'd be able to afford a new horse."  
"So why didn't you kiss him?"  
"I beg your pardon?"  
"I mean, it's kinda obvious that you two really like each other and you keep ending up in the same places, so what if it's like destiny or something?"  
"Don't be ridiculous. We're just rivals after the same treasures."  
Webby smiled, "well I should be getting back to the others. Are you sure you don't want to spend Christmas with us? Granny's making yorkshire puddings from scratch, though not until lunchtime, we've got to have breakfast first and..."  
"Even if I knew what they were I'd much rather stay here, alone."  
"Oh, I think you call them popovers here. Plus we've got crackers, with paper hats inside!"  
Goldie smiled, "feel free to take photos of Scrooge in a silly hat to show me later but I don't really care about the rest of it."  
Webby looked as if she wanted to say something, but in the end just shrugged her shoulders and climbed back through the vent.  
Goldie counted to twenty before trying to sit up, just moving that much was exhausting. Lifting her top slowly, she stared down at the bandage and poked at the edges of the wound to see if it would start bleeding. It was sore, but manageable.   
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and had to grab hold of the mattress when she became dizzy. Clearly she needed to go slowly. Inching off the bed, Goldie sighed in relief when her feet touched the ground. She packed up her things, taking the water and fresh bandages the children had left for her and rolling up her sleeping bag. Putting the plastic cover back on the bed was too much effort and now they knew about this room she couldn't be bothered to try and hide her presence. At least everyone would be downstairs, that would give her time to move to another room. This time she'd sleep inside a wardrobe, perhaps one with some blankets inside - she was a little cold. 

Scrooge smiled as he watched the children opening their presents. Donald was on the floor with them, trying to pick up as much of the ripped wrapping paper as possible to keep things tidy and to ensure none of the smaller presents was lost in the chaos. Della sat opposite Scrooge, encouraging the children to open different presents and laughing as she caught it all on camera. Mrs Beakley stood near Webby, who was having just as much fun as the boys at opening the gifts.   
They'd finished breakfast a while ago and were already wearing the hand-knitted Christmas jumpers his parents sent every time there was a break in the mists at Dismal Downs. As this could only happen every five years they'd also sent other jumpers for them to open over the next four years. His mother had a lot of time on her hands.   
"Hey Uncle Scrooge, this one's for you," Dewey carelessly tossed a small box towards him, before turning back to his own presents.  
The gift was wrapped in purple and silver wrapping paper, with a matching bow, and he looked at the gift tag to see that his name was indeed written on it. There was no clue about the sender though. Duckworth had gone through any presents sent through the mail - Glomgold's annual explosive had been returned to sender - and Mrs Beakley had been in charge of laying the presents under the tree so he assumed the gift wasn't too dangerous.   
He moved away from his family, just in case, and pulled the edge of the ribbon. With the bow undone, the ribbon fell away from the box and he cautiously lifted the edge of the lid. There was silver tissue paper inside, which he removed, finally allowing him to see the contents - a glass sphere, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.  
"Uh, does anyone know who sent me this?" he asked, raising his voice to be heard over his family's merriment.   
They all turned around to look at him, equally puzzled. Then Webby jumped up and ran over for a closer look.   
"Oh, that's from Violet and Lena," she told him. "See the V and L on the tag?"  
He peered closer, "oh yes, I thought that was just the store where they'd purchased it."  
"I think Lena was in a hurry, Violet wrote out the first part with your name and when she had to sign it Lena just put their initials. Isn't it a wonderful gift? She said that she knows how much you hate magic but she wanted to get something for everyone and her budget only stretched so far even sharing with Violet so she they brought some cheaper items and enchanted them. The enchantments on each will only last until the new year, or until the magic is used up, she didn't want you to worry about having the magic around for too long. Yours is only good for ten uses before then."  
"And what does it do?" Scrooge asked.  
"Wait, we've got magic gifts from Lena?" Dewey shouted, then dove back into the presents looking for his gift.  
"There's a piece of paper with each present, which explains the magic. Violet helped Lena with the spells so the gifts really are from both of them - she wanted me to let you all know in case you thought it was just her magic."  
Scrooge took out the sphere and spotted a folded piece of paper underneath it. The sphere was warm in his hand, he had to remind himself that Lena's magic was good and the gift had been a thoughtful one whatever it did. He could always tuck it away somewhere until the new year and then use it as a paperweight, the girl didn't have to know.  
'Truth Spell - hold this crystal in your hand and ask someone a question. If they lie it will turn red, if they tell the truth it will turn green. Use: x10.'  
Well that could come in handy, he supposed. It was the thought that counted when it came to gifts, which was why he'd gone shopping for the Sabrewings with Webby to help him choose the presents. He put the crystal back in it's box and went back to his chair to see what magical gifts the others had been given.  
Violet and Lena had given Louie a cup which changed any liquid to pep, Huey was given a pair of socks which caused his legs to grow so he could reach the highest shelf in any library, Dewey received a tub of moisturiser which had been enchanted and would heal minor cuts and bruises. For Donald there was a sleeping mask and headphones that would block out everything around him, Della got leg warmers that would give her the feeling of being on the moon and weightless. Mrs Beakley got a bracelet that would warn her if Webby was in serious danger (Lena joked she couldn't find any crumpet-gifts) and Launchpad got a a travel mug that wouldn't spill his coffee when driving or flying even if the lid was off (no liquid could leave the cup until it stopped moving in a horizontal direction). They'd brought Webby a charm to go on her bracelet which would light up if she was close to someone who couldn't be trusted - Lena knew how much Mrs Beakley worried about Webby's trusting nature.   
Nearly an hour later, when Donald had removed all of the used wrapping paper and Louie had triple-checked that there were no more presents - and therefore no hidden gifts of money - under the tree, Scrooge took Della aside.  
"I'm going after Goldie," he told her. "If she's in trouble I might be able to help and chances are she won't have gotten far."  
"Launchpad's in St Canard helping Drake and I can't leave the boys at Christmas, how will you follow her?"  
"I spent years travelling on my own remember, I can drive myself around and see if there's any sign of her at the dock or train station."  
"Are you sure about this?"  
"Aye, I won't be gone long."   
"Okay, good luck."  
Della watched him leave, then turned her attention back to the children. Dewey was already injured - he'd insisted on getting his own grappling hook because Webby had one - and had tripped over the spike hook while dancing to the Christmas music. Huey was busy reading a science magazine he asked for - the rest of the subscription would be delivered once a month. Louie was counting the money he'd received from various relatives, and Webby was looking after Dewey. Only Mrs Beakley noticed Scrooge leaving, and she just gave Della a look that suggested it was a mistake.


	6. Chapter 6

Scrooge was opening the front door when Webby came up to him. The triplets were right behind her, looking confused that he was leaving.  
"Where are you going? It's Christmas," Huey reminded him.  
"I just need to go check on a friend," he replied.   
"Who?"  
"I think Goldie's in a spot of trouble, so I'm going to see if she needs my help."   
There were four sets of guilty eyes that suddenly avoided looking at him.   
Scrooge frowned, "if you knew something about it..."  
"Whaaat? Why would we know anything about Goldie?" Dewey asked, unconvincingly.   
"We just know that she's your almost-sometime-ex-girlfriend," Huey added.  
Closing the door and folding his arms, Scrooge tried to figure out which child to focus on. The last one he expected to crack was Louie. Webby might have been trained by her granny but Louie knew how to keep cool when he had a secret.  
"I don't care what treasure she's stolen, I've been warned that she's in great danger, " he tried a different tactic.  
The children looked at Louie for permission to share the truth.   
"You're not in trouble, lad. I just want to help her," Scrooge coaxed.  
"Fine. She's in the mansion," Louie admitted.  
Scrooge was startled, wondering why they hadn't found her last night, "but we searched for her."  
"Clearly not hard enough," Louie told him, "and she's hurt. I think she'll need a doctor."  
Scrooge removed his coat, "okay, come and tell me what you know then I'll go and talk to her."

In the end all Goldie could manage was to walk across the room she was in, holding onto furniture as she went, and open the wardrobe in the room and slip inside. She had to sit up, but at least she could stretch her legs out - if she'd lain down her legs would have cramped after being folded up too long. There weren't any blankets, but she had her sleeping bag and she'd slept in worse places so it didn't take her too long to fall back asleep.   
She woke up when she heard a noise, and recognised Scrooge's voice when the bedroom door was opened. Keeping as still as possible, barely daring to breathe, she was relieved when he finally left. Wary of falling asleep in case he came back, she kept herself awake by mentally listing all of her favourite thefts.   
-  
"I'm sorry to interrupt your Christmas," Scrooge apologised again to Ty and Indy as they dropped off Violet and Lena.   
"We're Jewish," Violet assured him, "now what magical assistance do you require?"  
There hadn't been much time to explain on the phone, Webby had called Lena for help as soon as they realised Goldie had gone. Since Scrooge heard about Goldie's injury he'd been acting strangely and even Donald and Della seemed concerned.   
"We need to find Goldie, she's somewhere in the house - we hope - and she's hurt."  
"Do you have anything that belongs to her? Anything that she's touched recently?" Lena asked.  
"There's her old bandage with all the blood on it," Webby suggested.  
"That'll work," Lena told her.   
Webby ran off to retrieve it from the bin while Lena asked for a few other spell ingredients from the boys. Donald and Della took the adult Sabrewings into the living room to wait.   
The spell led them up to Goldie's room and Scrooge muttered that they'd already checked it. Lena ignored him and went inside. The magic insisted that Goldie was near so she walked slowly around the room, coming to stop in front of the wardrobe. Scrooge motioned for her to step away so he could open the door.   
"Hey Scroogie," Goldie managed a half-smile, her face pale and tired.   
Scrooge knelt down to get a better look at her, "what on earth have you been up to now?"  
"Not much, you?"  
"We're getting you into a proper bed," Scrooge promised her.   
"Not in front of the children," she tried to wink at him but found both her eyes closing and had to fight to keep from falling asleep.  
Scrooge stood up and shooed the children out of the way. Then he reached into the wardrobe and picked Goldie up in his arms, being careful not to touch her stomach where the children had warned him she was injured.   
"Why didn't you come to me for help?" he asked, though the question went unanswered as Goldie's eyes were closed. "I'll carry her to the room Mrs Beakley prepared yesterday for her."  
Seeing that he was struggling a little, Webby grabbed Lena and Violet's hands and went into the corridor ahead of them.  
"Can you do that spell you used on Della's present? If you can make Goldie light enough Uncle Scrooge can carry her more easily."  
"It's easier on an item of clothing than a person," Lena explained.  
"What about a sheet," Violet suggested. "Or her sleeping bag as that's already wrapped around her?"  
"Good idea," Lena stood in the doorway of the room and quickly explained the idea of Scrooge.   
He looked relieved and lay Goldie on the bed so they could perform their magic. Louie collected Goldie's bag from the wardrobe, knowing she'd want it close to her and soon they were all walking through the mansion together. 

Goldie woke to the sound of snoring and her first thought was that she was back in the cave at Gumption, tied to the back of the bear. When she opened her eyes she saw Scrooge's nephew Donald, not a bear, sitting in a chair across the room asleep. She was in a warm bed, the covers tucked around her and there was sunlight coming into the room around the edges of the curtains. The longer she was awake the more memories started coming back to her, of sneaking into the mansion, dealing with the children, even hiding in the wardrobe. She wondered how long she'd been sleeping.  
Goldie carefully pushed back the blankets and checked on her injury, discovering that someone had dressed her in pyjamas while she was asleep. She was also surprised to see that instead of a bandage someone had stitched up the wound and it was healing nicely. Her legs were a little stiff, but she felt wide awake and any noise she might make would be drowned out by Donald's snoring. Moving quietly, she slipped out of the bed and looked around for her clothes.   
She found her bag on the floor near Donald, her clothes were neatly folded on top of it. The bag felt heavier than before, but she put that down to her injury. Goldie was about to open the bedroom door when she realised the snoring had stopped.   
"You're up," Donald observed, sounding tired.  
Goldie had never had much trouble understanding him, she was a good listener, "sorry if I woke you, but I don't need a babysitter."  
"Raising the boys taught me to be a light sleeper, and to have a sixth sense for when someone was about to do something stupid."  
"I feel much better. I'm sure you'd like to get back to celebrating Christmas with your family."  
"Christmas has gone, along with three more days," Donald stood up and stretched his arms above his head.   
"What? How?"  
"You lost a lot of blood, your wound wouldn't heal properly. Uncle Scrooge can explain it better."  
Goldie folded her arms, "and where is old moneybags?"  
"Della took him and the boys out for some fresh air. He wanted to stay but she insisted, he was worried about you. Louie too. I offered to stay while they're gone."  
"Well thank you for all your help. I should get going."  
"If you tear those stiches the wound will bleed and it won't heal without some help. Whatever cut you must have been cursed or something, it needed magic to make the stitches work and a healing spell."  
"I'll be careful."  
Donald shook his head at her stubbornness, "why don't I step outside, then you can get dressed in here."  
"I thought I'd find a bathroom, maybe take a shower first, fix my hair."  
"You shouldn't get the stitches wet, in case it washes away some of the healing potion."  
"Seriously?" Goldie leaned against the door, feeling the strain of standing after such a long time lying down and letting her bag drop to the floor to give her arms a rest.  
"I could ask Mrs Beakley to come up and help, she and Della were the ones who changed your clothes."  
"No, I'll just... leave it."  
"You should probably wait until Uncle Scrooge gets back, or at least talk to Lena about what to do next."  
"Lena? That little friend of Webby's? You let a child use magic on me?"  
"She saved your life. See that," Donald pointed to a crystal hanging over the bed, "it helped you to sleep, every time you had a nightmare you'd move and rip the stiches. Lena suggested it and her sister Violet helped to make it."   
"I would have figured something out."  
"Even your luck has to run out sometime. Now, do you want my help getting back to bed before you collapse, or would you rather wait until Uncle Scrooge returns and finds you lying unconscious somewhere? He's already carried you once, but his back isn't as strong as it used to be."  
Donald walked over to her and held out his arm. Goldie wanted to pick up her bag and whack him with it, but she didn't have the strength.  
"I could do with some breakfast, apparently I haven't eaten for four days," she told him.  
Donald tried not to smile, "I'm sure we can find you something."  
She hated that she needed Donald's support to get back to the bed, and tried not to lean on him too much. He propped up the pillows against the headboard so she could sit up, which she didn't mind, but when he tucked the blankets around her, which she could easily manage herself, she glared at him.   
"How long until I'm healed?" she asked.   
"No idea. Uncle Scrooge should be back soon and I expect that Louie will be up as well. He kept sneaking in to check on you, that's why Della thought they could all use a break. Try to go easy on him, okay? He may act tough but he worries a lot."  
"I'm not a monster, Donnie," Goldie looked upset that he thought she would hurt the kid. "All those times you were with Scrooge as children, did I ever do anything terrible to you?"  
"Sometimes it's the things you don't do, or don't say, that hurt. Leaving without a goodbye can be as bad as... stealing someone's tooth fairy money."  
"You wouldn't have lost that tooth if I hadn't helped you, and I only took half."  
"You left me an IOU for half," Donald reminded her.  
"That's a globally recognised form of currency. I needed the cash and you were living rent-free at the time. Besides, pillows are one of the least secure places to hide your money. What did you expect?"  
"You never stole from Della."  
"Oh, is that what she told you?" Goldie smiled as she reminisced, "Della was smart enough to booby-trap her treasures and hide them in some rather odd locations but I came across some of them. I even switched them around sometimes, it was almost as much fun as borrowing them."  
Donald lost his frown, "oh."  
"Well I didn't want anyone to think I had a favourite, you were both rather remarkable children, I just liked messing with you in different ways."  
Donald smiled, pleased by the compliment.   
"Of course, Della would have had breakfast here for me by now instead of chattering away."  
Donald rolled his eyes, he should have known it wouldn't last, "I'll be back soon."  
He wondered what she'd hate more - slightly burnt toast or dried porridge. If he asked Mrs Beakley to make something for Goldie those might be the only two options, but he didn't want to leave Goldie alone for too long.


	7. Chapter 7

Goldie listened as Donald's footsteps faded then she got out of the bed and locked the door. She wasn't staying in these pyjamas any longer than she had to. Bending over to pick up the clothes hurt, but the wound didn't start bleeding and she decided she could handle the pain. The only things she didn't put on were her boots, but she figured she didn't need them yet and as soon as she was dressed she unlocked the door, then got back into the bed. Ten minutes later, Donald returned with some food.  
"It's actually closer to lunch, though you missed that," Donald explained as she stared down at the sandwiches and glass of water.   
He didn't mention her change of clothes, just placed the tray on her lap and went back to his chair.  
"You don't have to stay here, you know."  
"Yep." Donald just smiled and closed his eyes.  
Goldie wasn't sure whether he was trying to give her some privacy or he was just really tired. Either way, she was grateful to be able to eat in peace. When she'd finished she pushed the tray further down the bed, out of her way, then realised she didn't have anything to do. Being ill was the worst, it was so boring.  
"Hey Donnie, you awake?" she called.  
He opened one eye, then the other. Goldie smiled.

They were in the middle of a card game when the front door of the mansion slammed open, and several voices could be heard. Donald folded up his hand and picked up the cards laying on the bed. Goldie handed over her cards and sighed. They'd been having such a nice game. He'd refused to play for money, but she'd just been glad she could test her reflexes. Either his luck was still terrible or whatever magic potions they'd used hadn't affected her skills at the game.   
Louie was the first one up to the room. He opened the door quietly, peering inside as if to check whether she was awake. Donald was back in his chair by then, hidden behind a newspaper.  
"Hey Sharpie," she called out.   
He sauntered in casually, hands in his pockets, "how are you feeling?"  
"Just peachy. You?"  
"Can't complain."  
Donald shuffled the pages of his newspaper when they didn't say anything further, then closed it realising he'd have to help the conversation, "did you have a nice time?"  
"Yeah, we took Dewey's new drone-thing to the park and he let Launchpad fly it so surprise-surprise it crashed. Then mom tried to get us to play baseball with Huey's new bat, so he can practice for his sports badge but Webby may have been a bit too aggressive at trying to get the other team out so Uncle Scrooge said we should go to the money bin to calm down. I think that was more for him than for us though."  
Goldie laughed. She might have asked a few questions of her own after that, hoping to get some more information about the security features of the money bin, but Scrooge knocked on the door.   
"So yer awake then, that's good," Scrooge told her, his gaze wandering to Louie and Donald as he spoke. "I don't suppose you want to tell me what happened? That was quite a nasty wound you had."  
"What, that little scratch? It would have healed eventually, one of the perks of youth."  
There was no way Goldie was telling him the truth. He'd try to look for some sign of goodness in it, some sign that she had changed.   
Donald folded up his newspaper, he'd witnessed enough meetings between Scrooge and Goldie before, "I'll go check on Della and the boys. Come on Louie."  
"Oh I thought... isn't it my turn to babysit.... I mean, look after Goldie?"  
Goldie raised an eyebrow, "you had the children watching over me?"  
Donald pulled Louie out of the room, whispering something to Scrooge before he closed the door. She heard him talking as they walked away, his voice distinctive from far away.   
"You almost died," Scrooge told her. "We took turns, and the kids were just there to give the adults a bit of a break during their shifts."  
"First using magic, and now a nursemaid, are you sure you're Scrooge McDuck?"  
"I didnae use the magic, but without Lena we wouldn't be having this conversation. What happened?"   
"I don't remember," she lied straight to his face, not something she liked doing but it was unavoidable.  
"At least tell me if we can expect danger to follow you, Duckworth's patrolling the perimeter and we've got a shield up against magical attacks but unless we know what we're facing we cannae protect you."  
"I don't need anyone to protect me, I'm Goldie..."  
"O'Gilt, yes I know," Scrooge looked tired, rocking back on the balls of his feet and using his cane to support himself.  
"Well, if I was to take a guess I'd say that you're safe from whatever caused my injury," she tried to soften her tone. "I'm sorry if I ruined your Christmas with your family."  
"There's always some kind of drama at this time of year, it just happened to be yours this time."  
"Well I should be going," Goldie pushed back the covers, "thanks for the hospitality and healing and all."  
"Ye could stay," Scrooge offered. "Just to make sure no-one's following you, and in case the stitches need re-doing."  
"Oh please, if even you couldn't keep up with me after all these years I doubt.... other interested parties would manage."  
"Was that a compliment?"  
Goldie rolled her eyes, and got out of the bed. Scrooge watched her pick up her bag without saying anything. She made it to the door, her hand gripping the handle, then turned her face to him.  
"I...."  
The door was pushed open, sending the handle into her side. Goldie let out a string of expletives as she back away from the door, dropping her bag and reaching for her injury.  
"Oh I'm so sorry."  
When she looked up, she wasn't surprised to find it was the blue kid. Clearly he wanted to kill her. He was going on her List. Before she left the mansion whatever he held dear was going to be tucked away in her bag then thrown in the nearest inter-dimensional portal. She would have her revenge.   
Scrooge helped her back to the bed while all these thoughts went through her mind. When she looked up the triplet had gone.   
"I hate that kid," she muttered.  
"He's got a good heart," Scrooge assured her. "Let me check the stitches for you."  
She didn't say anything as he gently lifted her shirt - just enough to see the stitches - then tucked the blankets around her.   
"It looks fine, but you should rest for a little while longer just in case," Scrooge told her.  
"But there's nothing to do here, and I'm bored," Goldie pouted at him.  
"I could get you a book from the library? Or we could play a game?"  
"I suppose. Do you still have that Scroogeopoly one?"  
Scrooge frowned, "how do you know..."  
"Oh I may have come across it during a tour of the house," she batted her eyelashes at him. "It looks like it could be fun, with a few amendments."  
Scrooge suddenly decided that it wasn't the best game to play against someone like Goldie. Especially not if he wanted to remain the champion player.  
"It's being used at the moment, inhabited by a tiny race of beings."  
Of course he'd had another set made after that incident, but she didn't need to know.   
"I'll go crazy if I don't have anything to distract me from this pain, inflicted by your nephew. Perhaps I could sue?"   
"I could always get the children to come up and entertain you. They could call Lena and Violet over so you could watch their play from the beginning?"  
"Or I could use this time to plot all the ways to relieve you of the burden of all your money."  
"Donald's band mates have been hanging around, they could provide some music if you like?"  
"How is Glomgold?"  
Scrooge growled, "I'll see what games we have. Unless you remember anything in particular from your snooping?"  
Goldie grinned at him, "I'm sure whatever you choose will be fine."

Lena told Goldie she would have to wait a week before she could get the stitches wet. It was a long week, and Goldie felt well enough to move around her room but didn't want to join the others in the main areas of the mansion - she couldn't have them becoming too familiar with her presence.   
At first, Scrooge insisted on someone staying with her just in case she needed something. After the second day, which involved listening to Webby's list of questions about Scrooge, Goldie reminded him that she had a cellphone and could call if she needed anything. Since then she'd enjoyed the peace and quiet. She began gently exercising in her room, gradually building up her strength for when she could leave. Louie still checked in on her each day, sometimes bringing up her meals on the tray. She'd listen to his latest schemes, occasionally suggesting improvements and knowing it would annoy Scrooge. Mostly the family took it in turns to collect the empty trays, using it as an excuse to stop and chat. She'd been fascinated by Della's tales of the moon and all their gold, laughed at Louie's tale of tricking Glomgold's fortune away from him, and even shared a few of Scrooge's more embarrassing moments with Webby. There was one person she never saw.   
"Hey, where's Destructo?" she asked Louie.  
"Who?"  
"Mini-Donald, you know, your brother in all the blue."  
She’d used that nickname before, when Donald was younger. He caused so much mess after his little fits of anger, he could destroy a whole temple room in less time than it took for her say his name.  
"Oh Dewey, yeah he's... staying on Uncle Donald's houseboat for now. He freaked out after hurting you again so now he's too scared to come back into the mansion until you're gone."  
"Well that's silly. Not that I want him anywhere near my room but he can still live in the same building, it is big enough for the both of us."  
Louie smiled, "so you're not going to do any of those horrible things you threatened after he hurt you?"  
"Of course not."  
"Uncle Scrooge tried to tell him that, but..."  
"Give me your phone," Goldie held out her hand, her sharp eyes watching as Louie entered the pin number to unlock his phone.  
She called Dewey and promised that she wouldn't inflict any physical pain in retribution for his mistakes. Louie hugged her as he took back his phone, and then left quickly before she could say anything.


	8. Chapter 8

Goldie had been counting down the days until her week was up. As soon as the alarm on her phone woke her, she snuck out of her room and headed for the bathroom. She was going to soak in a hot bath until her skin wrinkled, and she was going to do it in the biggest bath in the mansion.  
Scrooge was not impressed to find her in his bath. She cut off his ranting by offering to share the water, which made him blush and then start stammering - especially when he realised that Goldie O'Gilt was naked beneath those bubbles. He quickly backed out of the room and went to find another place to brush his teeth. Goldie washed her hair, wondering whether she should lock the door in case anyone came in but figured no-one else would dare to use Scrooge's bathroom.   
Finally feeling clean, she waltzed down to breakfast and took the seat next to Scrooge. She was in high spirits, and the family were entertained by her alternating digs and flirting towards Scrooge. Every time he started in with his alliterative replies she'd bat her eyelids, or brush her foot up against his leg to distract him leaving her feeling victorious.   
"So what are your plans now that you're back on your feet?" Mrs Beakley asked her, with a look that suggested she knew exactly what Goldie had been been doing.  
"Oh I don't think Goldie will be ready to leave for a few more days," Scrooge assured her. "You can't rush a healing like that."  
Goldie smiled and patted Scrooge's closest hand, causing him to turn his head just before he was about to take a bite of his porridge. The spoon connected with his cheek instead of his beak and he had to wipe it away.   
"You've all been very welcoming, but do have places to be."  
"You can't leave yet," Louie told her. "I could still use you help with... that thing."   
"I'm still waiting for one or two things to fall into place for my next... venture," Goldie took another slice of toast from the centre of the table. "Once I've got confirmation I'll be off."  
Dewey was sitting between Della and Mrs Beakley at the end of the table, feeling safe between them. He'd decided not to leave the table until after Goldie was gone, just in case anything he did messed things up. Della was fussing over him, and Goldie struggled to see how the woman in front of her was ever the bold and daring Della she used to know.   
After breakfast, Webby followed her up to her room. Goldie knew it was Webby because no-one else had the skills to almost fool her - she'd kept one step ahead of Mrs Beakley during her last few visits so she didn't hold much value in that woman's spy skills anymore. She pretended not to notice Webby, going to her room but leaving the door ajar as a silent invitation. The young girl knocked after a few moments of hovering outside.   
"I might have to start charging for all these stories about Scrooge," Goldie commented as she let Webby in.  
"Oh, have I been taking up a lot of your time? Ha, I uh, I didn't mean to I thought you'd like talking about him because you two are, you know..."  
"Old acquaintances?" Goldie smirked as Webby tried to find the right label for their relationship.  
"Yeah, right, exactly. Only you do... flirt with him a lot, when you're not teasing him about getting old and stuff."  
"That's just a bit of fun."   
"So, how do you know what to say to him? Totally just for research purposes, I might need them for next years Christmas play and I've never had to flirt with anyone before, so..."  
Goldie raised one eyebrow, "is this about your friend?"  
"Huh? I don't know what you're talking about, why would I need to know how to flirt with my friends, that's totally ridiculous even if their eyes gleam like the edge of a freshly sharpened dagger.... I mean, whaaaat?"   
"For someone so dedicated to Scrooge's history I was surprised to see that almost-kiss in the play. Of course, a writer has artistic licence to play around with the truth on occasion. I do wonder though, if there was an ulterior motive."  
Webby started to back out of the room, "I think my granny's calling me."  
"Well if you're not old enough to ask for help directly you're probably to young to handle any real flirting."  
Webby paused, "why do you flirt with Scrooge?"  
Goldie smiled, "how else can I find out whether he still likes me? He blushes so adorably and becomes quite the bumbling idiot when I do, it's preferable to his irritable coin-pinching side."  
"I knew it! Flirting is the key to finding out how someone else feels about you. I read something in Huey's Woodchuck Guide that suggested flirting too much can be annoying and put someone off but that just the right amount..."  
"You cannot learn to flirt from a book. Gah, fine I'll help you. Sit," Goldie pointed to the bed and went to close the door against eavesdroppers.  
She spent nearly an hour with Webby, giving her suggestions on what to say and not to say to Lena - though Webby refused to admit the target of her affections. They practiced until Webby had the best lined memorised, and Goldie reminded her not to use them all at once.   
"Is there anything I can do for you?" Webby asked before she left. "Just to say thank you for your help?"  
"I don't suppose you're allowed to give me any of those weapons Scrooge keeps locked up in his armoury? He's changed the lock since I was last here and it takes so much time to get back in there."  
"Uh, no I don't think they'd like it if I did that. I didn't think you used weapons, anyway?"  
"I know how to use them, I just usually don't need them." Goldie placed a hand over her healing wound, "I used to just carry a sharp knife for stubborn locks but I'm thinking about upgrading. Of course, the bigger weapons are harder to get through security checks. Never mind."  
"Oh, good," Webby let out a little nervous laugh.  
"Off you go then. Enjoy the day with your friends."   
Goldie watched the young duck leave, then went to lay down on her bed. She hated that she still felt tired after so little movement. 

It was snowing. Huey had been watching the weather forecast the day before and told them all it was possible, so Webby was up early, excited for the chance to build snow-monsters and have snowball fights. She planned on creating a secret pile of snowballs, then hiding them ready for the battle ahead. If there was time, she might even be able to surprise the boys by waking them up with a face-full of snow!   
She was hiding the third batch of snowballs in a bush near the mansion when she spotted a pair of footprints in the snow. Curious, and alert for any danger - after all someone else might be up just as early as her and ready to pounce with snowballs - she looked around for any more tracks. She was a little disappointed when she couldn't find them, so she explored the grounds for a while in case there were any other clues. At the base of one of the walls around the gardens she found a deep indent in the ground, as if someone had put something heavy on the ground like a bag.   
Goldie!  
Webby raced back to the mansion knowing Goldie was clever enough to hide her tracks. Webby had been taught several ways by her granny, Goldie probably knew just as many. Was the older woman gone or just planning her departure?   
Webby knocked on Goldie's door before going in, she didn't want a repeat of the incident with Dewey. When there was no answer she went inside and looked around. Goldie was gone. The bed was neatly made, and there were a few envelopes on the pillow. Webby left them and went to find her granny, knowing she'd be awake - unlike Scrooge. 

Breakfast was a slightly more solemn affair that morning. The triplets had been told about Goldie leaving when they came downstairs, and Scrooge was hiding behind his newspaper. No-one was talking and from the amount of food still on the table no-one felt like eating much for breakfast. When Lena and Violet arrived, dressed warmly and anticipating that a snowball fight would be waiting for them, they were surprised to find a very subdued household.   
"Where's Goldie?" Lena asked, pulling off her gloves and hat.   
"She's gone," Webby told her in a whisper.   
"Oh, well I guess the skin was knitting back together nicely. Have you seen the snow? Are we building snow-unicorns or going straight to the snowball fight?"  
"I believe they are feeling sorrow at her departure," Violet told Lena. "Perhaps we should come back tomorrow?"  
Webby quickly brightened up, thought it was hard, "no! We're building snow-sword-horses and snow-krakens and having snowball fights - girls against boys!"  
The triplets groaned in unison.  
"Actually, I think there are some messages here from Goldie for each of you," Mrs Beakley arrived in the kitchen.  
She had gone over Goldie's room for some clue as to where she might be headed next, but as expected all traces of Goldie's presence had gone with the woman. There were just a few items left on her pillow, addressed to the different residents and she handed out bulky envelopes to Lena, Louie, Donald, Dewey and Webby, then folded pieces of paper to Huey, Della and Scrooge. Lena and Violet sat down in the kitchen and Scrooge lowered his newspaper so his hands would be free to take his.  
Donald opened his first, seeing that the others were hesitating.   
"Thanks for the loan, you probably don't need the interest as you're still living rent-free" he read to them and held up a few coins that equalled what used to be left under his pillow when he lost a tooth.   
Louie slipped something from his envelope into his hoodie, "just wishing me good luck with my next business venture."  
Huey had a Woodchuck badge, the note read "stole this off Della decades ago, didn't want you to feel left out," - he immediately passed it back to his mother, who smiled.  
Della's note just said "welcome back."   
Dewey wouldn't touch his envelope so Della opened it for him. A small cassette fell out, labelled "Dewey Dew-Night, Goldie interview". His eyes widened in surprise.  
Lena opened hers next, inside was a silver chain , "stole it off a witch. It's probably cursed but I figure you can un-curse it and keep it. Payment for your help. Knowing a witch could come in handy, call me if you want to get rich."  
Webby blushed as she read Goldie's words. When the others asked what it said she told them it was just some advice, they assumed she meant about the play or Scrooge. Goldie actually told her "your friend has the look of someone who knows how to survive on her own, but it's a rough old world out there. Give her a reason to stay."   
Scrooge looked at his piece of paper, then tucked it into his pocket. He didn't think he was ready to share what was inside with the others. Probably Goldie had left him the same sort of simple note she'd written for Della or Huey - something that wouldn't make him feel left out.   
"Right, everyone outside for some fresh air," Mrs Beakley saw the way Scrooge hid his note and decided to give him some privacy. "Boys, don't forget your coats this time. Yes that includes you Louie, you are not sitting around all day watching television. Della you're in charge, make sure they come in if they start getting too cold or need to change their gloves if they get too wet when the snow starts melting."  
“Yay!” Webby was the first one ready by the back door. “Snowball wars, then snow monsters and then we can come back in and relax by de-cursing Lena’s bracelet.”  
Lena smiled at her. “sure pink."  
“Did she saw snowball wars?” Louie asked his mom, sounding panicked.  
With the efficiency of someone who had years of practice ordering others around, Mrs Beakley soon had the kitchen cleared. When she turned around, even Scrooge had gone.


	9. Chapter 9

He stood in his study for a while, watching the children running around in the snow. Scrooge remembered watching Donald and Della play out there at that age. Turning back to his desk, he sat down in his chair and opened Goldie's letter. He wasn't expecting a long letter, she'd only written a sentence or two for the others after all.   
She hadn't started the letter with his name, but that didn't matter. A letter starting 'Dear Scrooge' would have sounded like a final goodbye and it was better this way. Placing his reading glassed over his beak, he took a deep breath and looked down.   
"Figured I should get you all something for Christmas, as I was a guest over the holidays. It was almost fun. Who knows, maybe I'll find my way back for the same time next year? Don't worry, I won't get into TOO much trouble."  
A piece of sticky tape kept the bottom of the page folder up. He pulled it away and smiled at the precious golden gift Goldie had left for him.   
A lock of her hair.  
Folding it back up inside the letter, to keep it secure, he opened his floor safe and put it inside. 

Goldie settled down into her seat, removing her gloves and tucking the train ticket into her pocket. She'd hoped to get a lift out of Duckburg from Scrooge's driver, it seemed like he would be easy to persuade to help her, but he'd been returning to the mansion as she left so she'd headed to the train station instead. At least she had the whole carriage to herself, one of the perks of the extra-early morning travel.  
She hoped Scrooge's family wouldn't take her presents to heart, she didn't want them expecting actual gifts next year, but at least if she ran into them again they'd be more likely to trust her. As the picture-perfect snowy countryside rolled by, Goldie wondered how long it would be before they discovered she'd left, she could picture Scrooge hiding out in his study wanting to read her letter in private.   
It wasn't the best weather for leaving town, but she knew Scrooge would keep finding excuses for her to stay 'just a wee bit longer' and the train's heating was working. Taking a quick look around, double-checking that she really was alone, Goldie reached into her bag. She took out her phone, scrolled through the pictures and smiled. Scrooge was rather good at research, he'd detailed some potential treasures to hunt for and any possible dangers, then had foolishly left them lying around in the back-up safe under the floor in his study. Goldie had decided it was sneaker to take photos and leave the originals so that he wouldn't know she had been snooping. Pleased that the images were clear, she went back to view her apps. Opening the 'find my kids' app - she hated what the named inferred, but it was the only suitable one she could find - she made sure that it was working. It had been too easy, after seeing Sharpie enter his PIN number, to get access to his phone and link them up. Now she'd know when Scrooge and his family were treasure hunting nearby.   
Sometimes being the brilliant Goldie O'Gilt was too easy. 

THE END.

AN: Wow, a story started and finished in less than a month! I really didn’t believe I could do it. I had the idea for this story at Christmas and then got caught up in some other things I’m writing but it’s done! Yay! J Hope you enjoyed reading it.


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